Legacy

Over the past 9 months I have been to 3 funerals...

After the most recent one, in August, it left me thinking about the legacy we leave behind.

Both the first one (December 2012) and the most recent one were for people that passed too young.

B was 46 when she passed last year from cancer. The funeral was easily 300 people attending (if not larger). She leaves behind 3 beautiful daughters and a husband. She lived her life for her family, and fought hard to the end, hoping to make a recovery.

S was an almost 70-year old retiree who moved to Port Hope about a decade ago. He found out he had cancer about 2 months before he passed - he too had a difficult battle. He was my father's closest friend while I was growing up, and was still close with him (conveniently my father moved out that way 9 years ago) until his passing.

At the funeral for S, his sister and brother-in-law led the service. It was beautifully prepared and it was a great testament to his fun-loving personality. It also was a true testament to the person who he was and the legacy he was leaving behind for both his Markham and Port Hope friends.

It got me thinking about myself and my actions and how they might one day be perceived as a legacy - what would my legacy look like? As morbid as this sounds, it's more intentional on the actions part than the end result (death) part. Ultimately, I was asking myself about whether or not my actions are worth a legacy? No matter the answer, I decided that I need to be more intentional about my relationships, my career aspirations, my passions, and everything else in life (how daunting!?!) because that is who I am. I cannot be flimsy or wish-washy about anything, as that is not a stable person. I need to be confident in who I am, what I want, and where I am going (even if there are doubts sometime - which I am human, and that is inevitable).

Life isn't about just living, it's about living it intentionally and fully!

So - here goes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!